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Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Blind Speed Dating #27 (YA)

Title: GRIPPED

Genre:
YA Contemporary

Word
Count: 60,000

Query:

Seventeen-year
old Taylor is supposed to be the homecoming queen, not the girl who shows up
drunk at school and barfs on the vice principal. She’s spent three years
climbing the social ladder at her prestigious private high school, snagging the
hottie tennis star boyfriend, and landing the head cheerleader spot, all while
maintaining a perfect GPA. So what if she needs a few drinks to cope with the pressure
of maintaining her Miss Perfect image.

But
that was before the hottie dumped her and she walked in on her dad banging a
blonde bimbo. Now, not only is she without Blake, but her family is falling
apart. And nothing terrifies Taylor more than being alone and unloved.

Suddenly,
a couple of harmless drinks a week become a few dozen. Several benders later,
Taylor is showing up at school drunk, tanking exams, getting into drunken
fistfights at house parties, and sabotaging the chance at a relationship with
the intriguing college guy in her advanced calc class.

One
frigid December night, drunk and pissed off after an argument with her
arch-frenemy, she gets behind the wheel of a car and slams into a tree – and
the truth. She’s doesn’t know how to survive without alcohol and she'd rather
die than give it up.

First
250:

There’s
no bullshit in math.

Numbers
aren’t flawed. They don't lie. And there's a solution for every problem. One
solution. And there's only one way to get it. Two plus two never equals five.

Also,
numbers can be perfect. For example, the number six. And the number
twenty-eight. This is what I strive for every day. To be like the number six.

I’ve
worked my ass off to get where I am. Everything is falling into place, and just
in time for Senior year.

Captain
of the Varsity Cheer squad. Check.

Hottie
tennis star boyfriend. Check.

All
honors and AP. Check.

My
parents should be proud. I’ve done everything they’ve asked the last three
years. Now maybe they’ll back off. Let me enjoy being a senior without all of
the pressure.

I
pull into the driveway, glad to have the first week of senior year behind me.
The house looks empty, but that’s not a surprise. My parents are never home.
The place is like a freaking museum. Cold, quiet, sterile. Everything is
immaculate and perfectly placed.

Grabbing
my purse and advanced calculus book off of the passenger seat, I head up the
walkway and let myself in the front door, kicking the door closed behind me.
Like an itch that needs scratched, a subtle tugging in my gut propels me to the
kitchen. I grab my favorite glass from the overhead cabinet. It’s a tasting
glass from the Cupcake Winery. It has a pink cupcake etched into the side.

I'd love to take a look at this one after HC Pink Monkey Boots, HC Golden Arrow and HC AgentOrange's exclusive weeks are up. Please send me the full ms + synopsis at laura@bradfordlit.com. Please put the word Cupid somewhere in the subject line. Thanks!